Warren Buffett hosts Rice MBA students

On Friday, November 20, 2009, 27 Rice MBA students met Billionaire Warren Buffett. The visit to Mr. Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, in Omaha, Nebraska, included a two-hour Q&A session followed by a two-hour lunch treat. In addition to touring some of Berkshire Hathaway’s subsidiaries including Borsheims and Nebraska Furniture Mart, each student had a personal photo session with Mr. Buffett.

“The Buffett visit was an unforgettable experience. During the
Q&A session, Warren Buffett proved to be a true stand-up comedian.
He made numerous jokes while answering questions about politics,
economics, and life. Buffett also confirmed his optimism about the U.S.
According to Buffett, the U.S. has a great system that unleashes human
potential. This system has always worked, and will always work, despite
periods of recession and depression.”

- Jan Goetgeluk ’10

“Warren
Buffett should not be admired mainly by his wealth, or achievements, but by his
warm spirit, his intelligence and openness, his humble heart which strikes you.
He is almost 80 years old, believes in long-lasting marriage, in commitment, in
peace of mind, in surrounding yourself with the right people, in loving what you
do, in following your passion — all to the way to be willing to work for free —
and that success is getting what you want, and happiness is loving what you've
got. Certainly, Mr. Buffett has success, but undoubtedly, he is one happy man.”

- Marcela Alanis Cantu ’10

“Some
funny observations on Buffett:

I
got a recreation of the pick-pocket photo that he did with his fraternity
brothers at Wharton. Some guy wanted a photo with Warren putting the guy
in a head lock. Warren just laughed and said, “Sure.” The guy goes over
to him, and Warren just grabs the guy like a pitbull on a T-bone. He was
tossing the guy like a rag doll. The look on the guy’s face was
priceless.

Our
school gave Warren a gift and he told us to put it in his car. We asked, “Just
go into your car and put it in there?” Warren says, “Yup. It’s over
there. The door is open. Just go ahead and put it in there.”
Said it like he’s known us for years.

During
the joke about having a Nebraska football entrance for an AGM, Buffett claps, throws
his fist in the air and jogs for a bit like he is running through the
smoke. It was hilarious. For those of you who are obsessed with Seinfeld,
“it was gold Jerry. GOLD!”

I
admire Buffett far more after I met him (I didn’t even think that was possible.)
He made everyone feel like he was their pal. He comes across like a boy
in an 80-year-old man’s body (with the wisdom of a man that has lived 200
years.) He was fist pumping, cracking jokes constantly. He had more
energy than most of the students there. The guy was beaming.”

“Personally,
there’s no other business personality that’s as complete as Mr. Buffett. He
somehow minimizes his thorough business acumen through a combination of
humbleness, wit, humor and even a paternalistic image so that people in general
(and even those who do business with him) somehow don’t mind the fact that he
is the world’s most sophisticate investor and does so by achieving high rates
of return on the capital he deploys. For a good example of that, there’s his
last year’s purchase of Goldman preferred stock with a cumulative 10% dividend.

For
us as students, this was an opportunity to learn about Mr. Buffett’s “mental
latticework” (a phrase coined by Mr. Charles T. Munger, Buffett’s longtime
business partner and avid fan of Ben Franklin.) The fact that he is able to
quantify human emotions and takes into consideration issues such as the
relativity of time when analyzing business opportunities, made this experience
all more worthwhile.”

- Jose L. Trevino ‘10

“Warren
Buffett is an inspiring figure, and is a role model to me and many of my peers.
I was mostly amazed by Buffett’s energy — he spoke for two hours straight, took
us out to lunch, and then took individual pictures with at least 100 students.
It was clear that his passions pushed him past the point of exhaustion. There
are very few business leaders who so genuinely take interest in students’
careers.”

- Rohit
Reddy ’10

“As
Mr. Buffett indicated, unfortunately, people don’t always pick the right heroes
and they sometimes get disappointed or let down. For reasons other than his
financial position, Mr. Buffett should be viewed as a positive role model and
hero to anyone that knows him or his background. The fact that he doesn’t do professional
conferences or sessions, and only does them for the students as he knows
they’re still impressionable, validates his preference to avoid the popularity
and the masses and speak directly to those who can appreciate him most.

Although
I entered the session thinking deeply about business with a strong investment
focus, I left thinking more about personal goals, philosophies and morals, and
how I can make sure I’m concerned with what matters most in life. As
people often wonder about how he’s become the great person he has, it’s amazing
that it boils down to strong morals, passion and selflessness.

The
Buffett trek was truly a moving experience and will forever be ingrained in my
mind and as part of the wonderful Rice MBA experience.”